Seib & Wessel: What We’re Reading Friday

Slate’s David Weigel writes that, unwittingly, Republicans in Congress are only increasing President Barack Obama‘s power by letting the sequestration take effect, putting decisions about how to spend federal dollars in the hands of the executive branch rather than having Congress make them. [Slate]

Tom Mann and Norm Ornstein offer five myths about the sequester. No. 5: This fight is all about money. [Washington Post]

A Senate ideological odd couple—Ohio’s Sherrod Brown on the Democratic left and Louisiana’s David Vitter on the Republican right—are teaming up to try to break up big banks. [Huffington Post]

In backing a tax hike and more spending on roads, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell upset some of his normal conservative allies, but teamed up with and was cheered on by Virginia’s business lobby. [Washington Examiner]

The appeal of poker tables at casinos is waning, partly because of the popularity of online poker. Casinos quietly swap poker tables for more profitable slot machines. [AP]

Angel Ubide, of Peterson Institute and D.E. Shaw, diagnose the euro crisis in a comprehensive 10-page essay. Bottom line: The fundamental problem is political, not economic–the lack of consensus on institutions and mechanisms to make the monetary union durable. [PIIE]

Sign of the Times

Minor milestones we’ve spotted:

Americans’ views of trade turned more positive: 57% view trade as “an opportunity for economic growth through increased U.S. exports,” while 35% see it as “a threat to the economy from foreign imports.” During the prior two years, Americans were evenly divided in their opinions about trade. [Gallup]

A new academic estimate: Approximately 14.5% of publicly traded firms are engaging in fraud in any given year. [NBER]

Employment for those with less than a high school diploma fell 4.2% (536,000 jobs) in the private sector, 4.8% in state and local government (26,000 jobs), and 17.4% in federal employment (12,000 jobs) between 2009 and 2012. [Urban Institute]

The government spent $1.793 trillion on Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, and interest on federal debt in 2012, 50.7% of the federal budget. All that spending is shielded from the sequester, aside from a 2% cut in the payments Medicare makes to hospitals and doctors. [WSJ]

NY Fed: 35% of people under 30 who have student loans were at least 90 days late on payments at the end of last year, up from 26% in 2008 and 21% at the end of 2004. [WSJ]

Before Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech calling for a referendum by 2017 on whether the U.K. should stay in the European Union or leave, 48% of the British public told pollsters they wanted to pull out. Four polls taken after the speech averaged 39% favoring withdrawal. [Independent]

Population in average Republican House district is 75% white; in the average Democrat district, 51% white. [Cook Political Report]

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Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.